LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Standing up and speaking out is natural for Kentucky State Representative Attica Scott (D-41). “I’m named after the prison in upstate New York, so I was born into activism,” said Scott. “It’s a calling for me.”
Protecting tenants’ rights is a personal issue for Scott.
“I grew up in the projects of Beacher Terrace. I know how important it is to have fighters for those of us who struggle from day to day, paycheck to paycheck or no check to no check,” Scott said.
That’s why she sent a letter to President Joe Biden encouraging him to sign an executive order that would protect tenants from rent increases. These rising costs threaten their ability to afford housing.
She wrote the letter with the support of the Louisville Tenants Union and a national movement tenants unions across the country have launched.
“They want to be in partnership with management. They want to be treated with dignity and respect because they are concerned about housing conditions. They’re concerned about housing affordability,” Scott explained.
A portion of the letter reads, “every rent increase is a threat to a tenant’s ability to age with dignity, feed their kids, and pay for medication. We need you to take decisive action to protect renters from unaffordable, unfair, and unjust rent hikes.”
“It’s really frustrating for the tenants to be renters and to be seen as people who are disposable, who can be thrown away, who are treated differently than people with positions and titles when we’re all supposed to be building a community where we can all thrive and we can all win,” Scott said.
Scott’s letter also addresses the threat of unchecked inflation on the nation’s economic stability and disparities in homeownership.
While Scott, who raised her children in a rented home, waits for a response, she wants tenants to know they are not alone.
“You have elected officials who come from where you come from, who live in the places and spaces where you live and work, and are raising your family, and I want you to know that together we are going to make life better for renters,” Scott finished.
Through her efforts, Scott hopes she has inspired other leaders to pressure the president to protect renters’ rights.